Give a Listen: Some Off-Beat Christmas Musical Recommends

All things being equal, the Christmas time-of-year is my favorite stretch on the calendar — which is why around the Pauwels’ hearth Christmas tunes start turning up in the background around 1 November (actually a bit earlier this time around). I want to expand the run-up to the big day as long as possible. Just as I enjoy a nice slab of fruitcake with my cupful of delightfully cholesterol-choked eggnog anytime during the year’s waning two months, so I revel in Christmas music of all kinds – wistful standards, Victorian age classics. And some less traditional entrants in the Yuletide catalogue.

Not only generations-old perennials reliably play a role weaving Christmastide’s charming tapestry. More recent aural offerings occupy a place in my cherished, seasonal selections. So here, a few, possibly unfamiliar, suggestions which – in the spirit of Noel – I humbly recommend for spicing up your holiday’s musical punch:

1) “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth” (Bing Crosby/David Bowie): People who don’t remember glam-rocker Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” career phase can’t appreciate sufficiently the surrealism of his teaming up with buttoned-up Crosby to interpret a Christmas staple about a young shepherd/percussionist performing for the new-born Savior. Veteran crooner Crosby, whose pipes were crafted to carry Christmas melodies, supplies a pleasant take on “Drummer Boy”, while Bowie overlays it with a counterpoint written precisely for their 1977 television duet.

Allegedly, the flamboyant Briton initially grumbled,”I hate this [“Drummer Boy”] song. Is there something else I could sing?” The imaginative solution? “Peace on Earth”. The result? Unaccountably enchanting.

2) Manly-men aren’t supposed to be caught humming anything by balladeer Dan Fogleberg, but I’m secure enough in my masculinity to claim “Same Old Lange Syne” as a personal favorite among December’s more unconventional musical crop. Contrary to its title’s suggestion, the piece’s narrative recounts faded dreams and heartache set on Christmas (not New Year’s) Eve.

The now-deceased Fogleberg wraps his tale around a melody as crushingly bittersweet as are its lyrics. Certainly not a feel-happy, candy-canes-and-reindeer composition, it nonetheless poignantly treats the kind of regrettably all-too-human situation that can pop-up unexpectedly, anytime — the night before Christmas not exempt.

I don’t endorse everything that unfolds in “Same Old” ‘s five minutes: A married women ought not sit in a parked car draining a six-pack with an “old lover”; nor use him as sounding board for her matrimonial disillusionment. Unwise would be an understatement. But the episode extends a holiday-themed, lump-in-the-throat reminder that life’s choices bear consequences. And to the heroine’s credit, at song’s wrap-up she apparently hustles home to her husband, presumably recognizing marriage vows mean that’s where she belongs Christmas morning – an agreeable one, we can hope.

How can a heavy-hearted and lonely reflection make Christmas even more beguiling? I don’t know, but JTull manages it here.

4) More in the mood for Christmas cheer minus the melancholy? Let me tap one more ’70’s presence: Elton John and his piano-driven “Step into Christmas“. Stylistically, this jubilant, slightly raucous ditty reflects that era’s inescapably identifable EJ pop – and will set feet tapping whether you’re Mall shopping or present wrapping. Sure, it’s silly and lightweight – it’s also dizzyingly infectious and showcases the superstar’s laser-beam vocal chops at their height.

5) Roughly one decade later, a gaggle of other Brits released a Yuletide musical rally cry to remember Ethiopia’s perishing in “Do They Know It’s Christmas“. I understand it’s fashionable today to snigger at this one — but I like it and look forward to catching it on the 24/7 Christmas music stations which make their annual bow during the holidays. You might enjoy this piece as well if you choose to disregard the “sophisticated”, “ironic” set and give it a chance.

Present are nearly all the cream of 1980’s English rock-n-roll, including: Sting, Duran-Duran, Paul Young, and two Georges (“Boy” and Michael); and herein we’re reminded that, among that era’s egregious, over-synthesized dreck, ghastly haircuts and flat-out weirdos there nestled some potent talents. All by themselves, a youthful Bono’s volcanic vocal blast coupled with the truly “reason-for-the -season” challenge to reach out to the downtrodden make “Do They Know” worth a listen.

6) Speaking of monster talent smuggled into a holiday tune: Elvis Presley’s “Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me” (1957) – lesser-known than his other Christmas “hit” “Blue Christmas” – is one that might bring a December smile; particularly if you’re a fan of “the King”. Again, I’ll concede it’s an utterly frivolous musical outing – did I mention Elton’ John’s “Step into Christmas” was “silly”? Well, in comparison, this one by Elvis makes the EJ song seem like Lord Byron by way of Beethoven.